10080 Minutes
by Apotheosisx
Summary: Namine died at the prime of her life, and in order to reach nirvana, she was given a certain task. Although, what kind of deity turns your search for nirvana into an excruciatingly panic inducing game in which you have to finish within 10080 minutes? (Sad ending. You have been warned.)
1. Heaven

They say life begins when you reach heaven.

Or should I say ends? Needless to say, my life met both birth and death this year. Only this time, death stayed with me in this foreign land. I think it's safe to say I'm in heaven, for Earth could never be this beautiful and horrifying at the same time.

It's been days since my death, and I get lonelier each day. I am forced to remember things I'd rather forget, and forget things I'd do anything to remember. I look around heaven, waiting for a much needed sign. It would be nice to have someone, or something to keep me company in this limitless paradise.

Day by day, I forget memories I've held on to during my time on Earth. I'm starting to forget almost everything - where I grew up, the first school I went to, my friends… but heaven forbid I forget my name and the moment of my demise. Surely there must be a reason why this is happening, and I am fully determined to find that answer.

I continue my search. I wander around aimlessly, yearning for at least a sign of companionship. 'The gods must be fairly angry with me,' I sigh. This is getting pretty tiresome. I try my best to remember what I would do if I were alive and in this situation. "This is getting pretty annoying, deity. Just tell me what I have to do to attain this famed nirvana." I yell exasperatedly, anxious for a response or whatever it is this 'deity' sends me.

Nothing.

I'm getting pretty annoyed. Attaining nirvana shouldn't be this hard, right? I'm almost entirely sure that there isn't anything I left behind that could be keeping me from reaching eternal happiness.

But then again, we can never be too sure, right?

"Namine."

I shot my head up, a smile spreading across my face. Finally! It's nice to hear my name from another person other than myself. I look around frantically, desperate to see whatever this deity sent me. Yet in a flash, I started to move slower than usual. It's frustrating, really, to not be able to move fast enough. This thing could easily disappear the same way it appeared, and that thought scared me. Oddly enough, everything seems to be moving normally. Why am I in slow motion?

Everything around me started to glow. Have I attained nirvana already? I must've said that out loud, because I swear I heard a low laugh somewhere near. "Hello?" I call out to the mysterious being who laughed at my musing. I turned my around to see a mysterious figure standing beside the apple tree, beckoning me to come over.

"Do you want to remember?"

I gasped. I've heard that deities know everything, but I merely dismissed those rumours as myths. Shocked, I nod my head desperately. "Help me, please. It's been a week since my death, and I have no idea on how to reach eternal happiness. I'm desperate." I hung my head low to show my desperation and need. The mysterious figure shook his head and let out a low chuckle. "That's what I'm here for, you know. You don't have to beg. I'm surprised you don't know. You've been wishing for me for the last seven days!"

I look at the mysterious figure with a grin plastered on my face. "Well, do you plan on introducing yourself? I'm pretty sure you already know me." I walk over to him. Niceties, never forget them."

"Yes, I do," he said, "and I'm not allowed to give my real name." My eyes widen. That took me by surprise. "Can you at least show me your face?"

"Nope, sorry. Diz's rules." The mysterious figure turned around, ordering me to follow him. "Alright, just give me a name. I can't go walking around referring to you as 'Mysterious Figure.'"

The mysterious figure sighed. "Alright. Call me Kai."

"Hi, Kai. I'm Nami-"

"Yes, I know. Now, get a move on girlie. Diz ain't gonna wait forever."


	2. A Second Death?

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: Hi! :)

I'm actually moved by the messages saying that my idea is "new" or "innovative". I just got this idea from a dream I had a few nights back xD I thought, 'why not make it into a story?"

So, here's chapter two!

* * *

I've never been this happy and confused during my life on earth. Nothing can compare to the glorious feeling of knowing you might attain nirvana. I tuck a strand of my golden locks and look up to the sky. Eternal life, wait for me.

Still, I am confused. Why would a deity send someone to help me? "Why did 'Diz'," I use air quotes to show my sudden scepticism, "send you, though?" Kai chuckled as he shook his head, obviously appalled by my lack of faith. "He's real, you know. No need to use air quotes." Kai stopped, turned around to 'face' me. Technically, he can't face me because of the damned coat blocking his face, but he does. I can see that he's smiling, but I can tell that it's the kind of smile that doesn't reach the eyes.

"I'm just as confused as you are, really." Kai ruffles the back of his coat, "In this life, you just kind of wait around for something to give meaning to your existence. It's kind of a call of duty, really. One day you wake up and feel something deep within your heart telling you that there's someone or something out there that needs you, and that's how you reach nirvana."

"What? Hold on!" I close eyes and rub my temples. I was kind of hoping for an explanation, not something to add more questions. Call of duty? He hasn't reached nirvana? What does that mean? He's -

"I've already reached nirvana, Namine. That's how I know." His statement made me look up at him, and I could feel my eyes giving away my confusion.

A thought suddenly entered my mind and I sigh. "Please don't tell me this is a real life," or should I say after life? "cliché. You're going to be someone from my time on earth that I had feelings for and we end up bonding to the point where we make a pact that once we attain nirvana we're going to meet up somewhere in heaven and live happily ever after."

Kai laughs at my exasperated rant. "You wish, Namine. Did you die while watching a movie, or something?" He's obviously trying to stifle his laughter, and I realize that my rant probably made me sound like a hopeless romantic. Call me hopeless, but not romantic. I was never good at romance.

"If you've already reached nirvana, then why do you have another call of duty?" I ask with a tinge of suspicion. This dude better be legit. I can't afford to lose another week waiting for a sign of eternal life.

"Attaining nirvana can also be called rebirth. You forget everything." Kai shrugged, "After you do the mission you've been entrusted to, you forget stuff again. That's the gist of it. It's a really hard thing to explain. You'll understand once you actually experience it."

Another sudden revelation. Forget everything? "I haven't even reached nirvana yet and I'm already forgetting 70% of my memories. I'm not sure I can afford to forget everything I've held on to for so long." I frown as I play with the hem of my dress.

"As long as you don't forget your name, you're fine." Kai waved his hand, as if trying to finish the discussion.

"Then why can't you tell me your real name?" I ask with a grin. My real after life cliché rant suddenly doesn't seem so stupid anymore, and my question obviously took Kai by surprise. Aha, this might be one of the first questions that might have a real answer.

"Namine, have got to start listening to people talking to you." Kai shook his head, annoyed. "Rebirth. I'm not allowed to tell you because it's basically returning to my former life and that's kind of offending to the gods around here." "So did you just choose Kai out of the blue or do the gods randomly name you or-"

"I'm going to say this in the nicest way I can, okay?" Kai cleared his throat before turning around and walking in the other direction, "Please shut up so we can get to Diz already."

Wow. Rude.

* * *

The rest of our trip was quiet. We were both wrapped in our own thoughts and I, for one, am still confused as hell. How can anyone just accept the fact that they're going to forget every memory they've had? Sure, eternal life sounds glorious, but wouldn't it be just damn dandy if you could remember the life you had before you became a servant of the gods?

How did Kai, and everyone else who have attained nirvana, survive the removal of their memories? Did they protest? Did they wake up one day with no memory intact? Maybe I'm overreacting, or maybe I'm too attached, but I'm sure as hell that living without the knowledge of knowing how I got here or how I came to be will be nagging at me for the rest of my eternal life, and I'm not sure I can live happily with that.

I close my eyes for a moment, hoping for a new memory to recall. I see blurry faces, but I can still feel the emotions I felt during that time. I can still feel the warmth of the love I felt back when I last hugged my mother. How can anyone, immortal or not, live with the absence of such precious memories?

"Hey, Namine?" I open my eyes to see Kai in front of me. Surprised, I take a step back. I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to even notice that we have left the garden. We're now in front of a large… tree house? "Diz lives here? What is he, a gorilla?"

Kai shook his head, amused. "He can take on any form he wants, and if he's nice enough, he won't torture you by making you talk to someone who looks exactly like someone from your past." My eyes widen at his statement. Somewhere inside my deeply twisted heart wanted Diz to do exactly what Kai just said. Kai lowered his head, and I can tell he's trying to figure out what I'm thinking. "You're not thinking of pissing him off on purpose are you…?"

"I'm going to say this in the nicest way I can, okay?" I grin wickedly, quoting Kai's downright rude statement before, "Please shut up so we can get to Diz already." Kai's mouth dropped, making an 'o' shape, fuelling up my twisted desire: to anger this god and make him transform into the image of someone I love. I can't see the reason Kai referred to it as 'torture'. It's always nice seeing the people you love, right?

"You don't know what you're doing, Namine. Purposely pissing off Diz can actually lead to another death." Kai cringed at his statement, and it made me cringe too. Another death? "What…what do you mean?" my voice cracks, letting my fear slip out of my façade.

"I've seen it happen before, and it's definitely not something I'd like to see again."

I'm too scared to ask Kai what he's seen, and I doubt he'd want to talk about it again. Maybe pissing this god off isn't a good idea, but the idea of seeing someone from my memories still plagues my mind. What if I ask nicely?

If I don't do this right, I might experience a second death.

"Dying a second time means you're never going to reach nirvana, you know."


End file.
